Ice has long been used for various commercial and domestic demands. In the domestic context, ice making machines and storage bins are typically located in a freezer portion of a refrigerator or in a free-standing freezer. These domestic ice machines and storage bins are typically designed to hold only a small amount of ice.
In the commercial context, there is typically a need for greater quantities of ice than in the domestic context. Some examples of commercial uses of ice include beverage and ice machines at restaurants, convenience stores, or hotels, but there are many other examples that require large quantities of ice. In the commercial context ice can be stored in generous quantities within a large bin, such as the bins described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,887,758 and 4,903,866. Large quantities of ice can be stored in such bins and there is typically an access opening to provide a user access to the ice.
A difficulty in storing large quantities of ice in a storage bin is the propensity of the ice to “bridge” over time, making it difficult to dispense the ice. That is, when ice is stored in a large bin, some of the ice might melt slightly and then re-freeze in clumps, also called bridges. For example, ice might melt if some inner surfaces of the bin are at a higher temperature than other inner surfaces of the bin. When the ice melts, liquid can form on the surface of the ice. In some instances, the liquid can re-freeze, causing the ice to re-freeze in clumps, thereby bridging. When ice bridges, the ice becomes more difficult to dispense from the storage bin.
Several types of access openings for ice storage bins are known in the art. For example, Japanese Patent Publication No. 10-238917 has a hinged door that swings outward from the storage bin and away from the ice stored inside the bin. On the other hand, some ice storage bins have hinged doors that swing inward towards the ice inside the bin. In many instances, tools may be required to remove or otherwise service such hinged doors, which can be inconvenient if the tools are not readily available.
In some instances, ice storage bins may have one or more windows to view the level of ice inside the bin. One problem with such windows is that the windows often fog up, which makes it difficult for a user to see inside the bin to view the level of ice.
Therefore, a need exists for systems and methods for access to an ice storage bin.